July 8, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
The call of Pickleball
Tournament to be held in Three Lakes this weekend
The call of Pickleball
Chuck Radtke of the Three Lakes Pickleball Club said the group has a large number of participants signed up and people are coming from all over the country - some from as far as Florida and Utah. "(Signed up, we have) 69 individuals. They are from all over the country, but when you look at teams it is a lot more teams than the individuals because they also play in mixed doubles, so we're going to have people playing that would represent about 120 different players," Radtke explained.
The tournament will function as a round-robin with three divisions based on skill level. Each division will crown a gold, silver and bronze medalist based on overall record.
Money raised through entry fees and tournament sponsorships stays within the community. All participants will receive a shirt with a sponsor list on the back and food and water throughout the tournament.
Any remaining money will be given to the Three Lakes Recreation Department through which the Pickleball club runs its events.
In addition to entry fees, the tournament also generates money through sponsorships from local businesses.
"We've got right now 60 sponsors and they contribute by (giving indirect contributions such as legal work, volunteering, etc.). Other sponsors provide dollars for our tournament. In some cases significant dollars," Radtke said. "To be a sponsor it's $25. If you go down the street (in Three Lakes) everybody is sponsoring pickleball."
For those unfamiliar with the sport, pickleball is similar to tennis with a ping pong twist. The courts have been shortened and smaller nets have been implemented.
Players volley back and forth with a ball similar to a Wiffle ball, using paddles comparable to ping pong paddles only larger and a bit heavier.
USA Pickleball Association Ambassador Stephen Dennis took a minute to explain the game.
"The court is a little less than half the size of a tennis court. It's 44-feet long and 20-feet wide," he said. "You serve diagonally. It has to land in the little rectangle just like tennis. The ball has to bounce twice. You serve and it bounces. They return and it bounces. After that point you can hit the ball in the air (or off a bounce) it doesn't matter."
Dennis and Radtke have put together an informal club dubbed the Three Lakes Pickleball Club.
"It's informal. We have about 70 people on our mailing list," Dennis said.
The group plays on the courts at Burnside Park and moves indoors to the Three Lakes High School gym during the winter months.
The club hosts organized play days where anyone is welcome to come and play at no cost. The club offers free help to beginners on organized days.
People interested in playing can attend one of the organized play times or stop into Three Lakes Hardware, located on Superior Street. Employees there will set players up with everything they need.
"There is always two nets up and we have a bucket of wooden paddles and balls at the hardware store people can check out, no cost whatsoever," Dennis said.
"We play pickleball in Three Lakes every day of the week," Radtke added. "Any day that it is raining or too cold, or snowing we play indoors and we also play 12 months of the year."
The club hopes to gain the interest of people of all ages and encourages everyone to come and try out the game. The only thing participants need to provide is a pair of tennis shoes.
At the most recent Pickleball Club meeting members implemented a new rule to accommodate disabled players, giving people of all physical abilities the option to play.
"You could have a person in a wheelchair and a person that's not in a wheelchair play on the same court at the same time. It's amazing," Radtke said. "There is one rule that is different for the wheelchair players. They get to play the ball on a double bounce rather than a single bounce."
Later in the summer the club will team up with the Eagle River Pickleball Club to put together a three-day clinic in Three Lakes.
"Aug. 6, 7 and 8 we've got a guy coming up from Florida and he is affectionately called Coach Mo ... and he is considered the Muhammad of Pickleball," Radtke said. "He knows and teaches clinics all over the country and he's being flown in, coming up here. He's teaching a clinic for three days here and we've got people coming from all over state to go to this clinic here in Three Lakes."
The clinic registration is full for Aug. 6 and 7, but there are still some spots available for the Aug. 8 clinic. Anyone interested in signing up can do so by contacting Radtke by email at [email protected] or by phone at (715) 546-8145.
Lindsey Nylund may be reached at [email protected].
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